Tips for Planning a High Class Wedding on a Budget

Let’s face it: Getting married is expensive. In fact, it is probably one of the most expensive things you will ever do in your life, after buying a house and having kids. A high class wedding can cost at least $30,000, probably more. Luckily for you, though, there are ways you can cut this cost down to size.

Save money by doing your own wedding planning.

The cost of a really nice wedding usually includes the expense of hiring a wedding planner. This person manages all of the day-to-day stuff of planning your wedding: communicating your wishes to contractors, coordinating everything with the venue, etc. There is no reason why you can’t do this stuff yourself, though. Although it’ll make more work for you, it’ll save a lot of money in the long run. Just be sure to start planning your own wedding early, so that you can spread the work out over a longer period of time!

Save money on your wedding dress.

Your wedding dress is one of the larger single expenses you will encounter, but also one of the ones you have the most control over. Browsing preowned wedding dresses or shopping at discount wedding boutiques are a couple of ways you can cut costs on this expense. And the best part is, no one will ever know the difference!

Save money with a buffet-style meal.

Individual plates can be quite expensive for each person. It is usually less expensive to have the meal served buffet-style. Plus, then you don’t have to worry about guests not liking their meal or not getting what they want.

Save money with an outdoor wedding.

With most weddings, the venue is the biggest expense of the entire night. Venues also often include food or wine in the cost, and tend to overcharge for the convenience. If you plan an outdoor wedding, on the other hand, you can probably get a permit to hold your wedding at a local park for around $100. Then the only expenses will be furniture rentals and caterers. Just be sure to have a backup plan in case of bad weather!

Save money by comparison shopping.

If you do a little comparison shopping, you will find that there can be a lot of variation in the prices for venues, caterers, and other wedding services. Don’t necessarily go with the cheapest of everything you find, as the quality may not be up to par, but do shop around to ensure you are getting the best prices.

Also, sometimes wedding service providers may be willing to negotiate a better price if you are finding better prices everywhere else. As a real life example, one of the biggest chunk of money you can save by shopping online is from the cost of your engagement ring.

Compared to buying your diamond in a physical store, you can get to save at least 40-50% off the price of your engagement ring by shopping at online retailers like these.

Save money by cutting the unnecessary bits.

You will need to use your best judgment on this one, but suffice it to say that there is a lot of wasted money at weddings, spent on stuff that no one ever notices. Try to think creatively. Can you make decorations and favors yourself to save money? What about table decorations — can you make do with fewer flowers or smaller vases? Small decisions like this can save you a lot of money in the long run.

It’s actually not that difficult to save money while planning a budget wedding, but as you can see, it does take time and effort. If you are willing to trade a little hard work in order to save money and still be able to have the wedding of your dreams, however, it will really pay off in the long run!

What are some ways you’ve been able to cut down on your budget, while still having the wedding of your dreams?